The Hills Have Eyes, But Only in Grass Land
by LordBudFerg
Summary: When Mario goes to a small village to rescue the kidnapped Princess Peach, he gets a lot more than he bargained for. Parody of Resident Evil 4.
1. The Village

Despite what the title suggests, this story is not actually inspired by the movie in question and has nothing to do with it whatsoever (and Grass Land itself is not involved either). I just thought it was a cool reference, and fits the fact that it is a horror story (and every one of the chapters is named after a movie in that genre).

**The Hills Have Eyes (but Only in Grass Land)  
****Chapter 1-1: The Village**

-Village Outskirts-

"Thanks again for the ride guys," Mario tells two Koopa Troopas who are driving him through the backwoods outside of a small village in the mountains.

"No problem," the Koopa who is driving, Dave, answers.

"Personally, we think you'd be crazy to want to come out here," Kurt, the Koopa in the passenger seat, remarks.

"Well, I've never been one to back down," Mario answers, "Plus, Peach was kidnapped and she was last seen in the village." Mario suddenly hears the two-way walkie-talkie in his pocket begin to play static, and he pulls it out and begins to talk into it.

"Hello?" Mario asks, knowing who is on the other end but feeling the need to do this anyway.

"Hello Mario. I hope your trip is going well?" Toadsworth asks on the other end. "Have you found the princess yet?"

"Not yet. I'm just coming into the village. I'll call you when I find her."

Mario turns the device off and puts it back into his pocket. The van they are riding in continues to move further down the old dirt road, kicking up dust and bouncing on the rocks that frequent the path. The van comes to a stop when a two-story house comes into view. Mario steps out of the door nearest him, and walks to the driver's door.

"Are you two coming?" he asks.

"Nah. We'll stay and keep watch. Don't want to get any parking tickets," Dave answers, obviously scared but doing a good job of hiding it. Mario walks up to the front door of the house and knocks, getting no answer. He knocks once again, this time louder, and still no answer. Mario shoves his shoulder into the old door, and manages to knock it clean off its hinges. The door lands on the floor, making a loud KWANG! sound that echoes through not just the house but the surrounding mountains. Mario walks into the next room, where he sees a Koopa Troopa looking to be about the age of 60 hunched over a pot, cooking something.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you kn-" Mario is interrupted as the Koopa lets off a weird primal shriek, then spins around to reveal a truly horrendous sight: parts of the Koopa more closely resemble a Dry Bones than a living Koopa, the flesh that remains has a bizarre purplish tint to it, and the bones that are showing have weird purple moss forming over them. The creature looks like a Dry Bones that has been brought to life a few weeks too quickly.

Speaking of quickly, the creature immediately charges Mario with the speed of a freight train, jumping onto him and leaning over as though it is planning to devour him. As the Koopa-like creature's face gets just inches way from Mario's, the plumber manages to get out his hammer. Using the one hand he has on it, he manages to nail the Koopa with it and then kick the creature off. As the Koopa starts to get back up, Mario takes a swing with the hammer and shatters it much like a standard Dry Bones. Immediately after the creature falls apart, the purple moss begins to move, devouring the bones within seconds before Mario hits it as well, ending the process with the moss being destroyed.

Mario's first reaction is to pull out the walkie-talkie and turn it on. "Toadsworth, this is Mario. I've just-" He suddenly stops, hearing the van outside pull away and speed out of the vicinity.

"Mario, what was that sound?" the old Toad on the other end asks, concerned.

"The van that brought me here pulled away. Not sure why. Anyway, I just encountered some strange Dry Bones."

"Dry Bones? Nasty things. How could something like an animated corpse get much more strange anyway?"

"This still had most of its flesh, and it was covered in a weird purple moss of some sort. After I defeated it, the moss absorbed the remains. I killed the moss as well."

"Odd. Keep on the look out for the Princess, Master Mario. Hopefully the creature you were describing is not related to her disappearance, but somehow I feel as though you may be having some more encounters with them."

Mario hangs up and, almost as if on cue, he hears a shriek similar to what he heard from the creature he has just killed. He looks out the window to see three of the Dry Bones-like creatures, all waiting for him to come out. Mario, seeing no way around the creatures, runs upstairs, where he sees, almost as if calling for him, a door cracked slightly. He looks inside said door and sees there are no lights and he can make out nothing but a pair of purple eyes staring back at him.

"Hey, wanna buy something?" the figure inside asks, his voice sounding like a kid around 10 years old.

"How'd you get in here?"

"Me? I come and go. I saw you coming up the road and I knew you'd be coming here, so I rushed up that ladder outside and waited on ya."

"Ladder? I could use that to escape..."

"Exactly right, but first, are you interested in buying a weapon?"

"What do you have?"

The boy inside the room takes a deep breath before exclaiming quickly, "Super scopes, Gatling Goombas, red Mr. I's, hand cannons, grappling hooks, Master Swords, beam swords, freezing missiles, Katamari, butterfly knives, Pikmin, Poke Balls, Bob-ombs, and propane and propane accessories."

"Alright, give me a super scope."

"Great, that'll be 800 coins." Mario nearly falls over upon hearing this somewhat outrageous amount, but he pays it nonetheless. The boy reaches his arms out of the room long enough to hand Mario the gun and to collect the money, and the plumber happens to notice that while his left arm is a pale white, almost like a ghost, his right arm is much darker and appears to be tanned. His arms are those of a human.

"I'll leave in a bit," the boy tells Mario as the plumber stuffs the Super Scope into a small armory he is carrying with him. "I'll hang out here for now and see if I can't find some more things to sell lying around. By the way... I could sell you a bigger case for your weaponry."

"I'll buy it when I need it then," Mario answers before starting to climb down the ladder.

"Suit yourself," the boy yells to him. Mario pretty much ignores him, instead continuing to climb down. When he gets down a few feet, he sees that the three Koopa-Bones who were standing outside earlier are now directly at the foot of the ladder, looking at him and moaning in what sounds as though it is agony. Mario, rather than continuing to climb down, jumps, landing on the three creatures and causing them all to shatter. A shot from the super scope on each of the mold-things afterwards ends the battle at that.

"What are those things?" Mario asks no one in particular, but gets a reply from the boy nonetheless.

"I've heard some of the normal folks nearby refer to them as Ganadors, whatever those are." Mario begins to walk cautiously toward the village, looking around and carefully making sure no other Ganadors are coming after him. He walks through the thick grass lining the path to the town, eventually reaching a small shack. He then hears some moaning behind him and turns, seeing a Goomba stuck in some type of modified bear trap.

Mario runs over and lets the fungus out. "Thanks," the Goomba tells him. The small monster appears to be hurt a bit, but is able to run off. As he does, he shouts to Mario, "I'll find a way to pay ya back!"

"You're welcome," Mario answers before turning around to face the cabin once more and nearly getting his head taken off with a pickaxe. Mario is luckily able to dodge the weapon swung by the Ganador standing before him, this one looking different from the others in that it has on a Phanto's mask and blue overalls. Mario does two backflips, and the mutant comes running in for a second attempt at a hit only to be shot with the Super Scope. The creature falls to the ground, but then begins to pull itself right back up.

Mario instinctively fires the gun once more, once again sending the Koopa toppling to the ground. Again, the zombie-like Koopa just stands up once more. Mario, instead of firing again, instead runs at the pickaxe wielding maniac and jumps, stomping on his head before running off in the other direction, trying to lure it into following.

This works, and the Koopa begins to limp after him while clutching the pickaxe, the two eventually reach a bridge, on the other side of the bridge stands three more Ganadors. These, unlike the one following behind the plumber, are like the ones seen before. Mario starts to back away, then sees that the masked Ganador is about 20 feet away. Thinking quickly as both sides rush toward him at once, Mario jumps on the heads of the normal Ganadors, landing on the other side of the bridge. He then shoots one of the ropes on the bridge, causing it to fall over and drop all four into the rushing river below.

"This... isn't going to work..." he pants, seeing no Ganadors coming from ahead and obviously none from behind. He walks over to the ledge and looks down, to his shock seeing the pickaxe wielding Ganador still clinging on via the pickaxe being stuck into the wall. The Koopa makes a grab for Mario's ankles, but Mario quickly backs away, breaking into an all-out sprint when he realizes this particular Koopa just will not die.

The red-clothed plumber reaches a large stone door, quickly opening it assuming it is the entryway to the village. Little does he know a certain other figure follows him to the door...

-The Village-

"Hopefully the Koopas here are normal," Mario whispers as he ducks behind a tree right at the entrance of the village. Mario then reaches his head around, looking and seeing that there is a large stone pike in the center of town, a Koopa Troopa laying at the foot of it and not moving. He looks more carefully and sees that the Koopa he is seeing is Dave, one of the Koopas that had helped to bring him here.

Just as Mario is about to sneak into town, he hears a loud grunt behind him and instinctively ducks, causing the pickaxe of the Ganador behind him to miss and wind up stuck in the tree. Mario uses the Super Scope that's still in his hands much like a baseball bat, smacking the Koopa upside the head with it. The Koopa spins around at such a degree that it's neck should break, but instead the mutant retaliates by grabbing him by the throat with both hands and beginning to choke the life out of him. Mario kicks the Ganador in the stomach, doing anything he can to stop what the Koopa is planning, but the mutant doesn't seem to notice the strike at all. In one last-ditch move, Mario takes aim with the Super Scope and shoots the Koopa directly in the face with it, sending him toppling to the ground before shattering. After the usual process of the moss devouring the remains, Mario puts his gun away and digs out the hammer, slamming it down on the moss and killing it as well.

"This... is... too... much..." he pants, exhausted from dealing with the persistent freak. Just as Mario is about to go on, he sees a group of 10 or 11 Ganadors walking toward him at once. Just as Mario thinks he's done for, he hears a loud bell echoing through the town, causing all of the mutants to stop in place.

"La iglesia."

"Es tiempo de orar."

"Debemos ir."

"¿Terminará jamás Martin al Aprendiz? Probablemente no."

"Cackletta llama."

Every individual in sight turns and walks away, heading to a large building in town and entering, the last Ganador to enter locking the door behind him.

"Did that one say 'Cackletta?'" Mario wonders aloud, but dismisses it and begins to walk until he sees another door in town, this one leading into another section of the area. As he is about to open that door, someone on the other side does and approximately 8 Ganadors emerge, walking past him and entering the building as well via a key that one has. The door is locked again afterwards. Mario goes into the door those eight emerged from, and once there immediately withdraws his walkie-talkie.

"Toadsworth? I'm in the village and there are a lot more of those creatures. They all went into some building when a bell went off. I think one mentioned Cackletta."

"Cackletta? Why would she kidnap the princess, or have anything to do with something like this? Mario, keep your eyes open."

"I will." Mario turns the walkie-talkie off, then sees a large cabin in front of him. Crows fly all around the building, the wind blowing slightly and creating an unbelievable amount of tension. The plumber cautiously enters the house, seeing nothing inside except some dusty old furniture. He then sees a typewriter lying on a table, but ignores it. Mario continues on, reaching a room being blocked off by a bookshelf. Seeing no other way to go, he stands to the side and grabs the front and back of the bookcase, shoving it forward and causing it to fall to the ground. He steps over it and through the doorway.

Inside this room he sees a bunch of spiders, two tables, an extensive collection of weapons on the wall, and a bureau, the latter shaking and sounding like there is urgent mumbling going on within. Mario puts away his hammer and gets out the Super Scope once more, opening the piece of furniture and gasping as a bound and gagged Iggy Koopa falls out. Mario pulls the tape off his mouth.

"Iggy? What are you doing here?"

"I never thought I'd be happy to see you!" the Koopa replies before answering his question with, "It's a long story. Just untie me and I'll explain the best I can."

Mario uses the Super Scope to shoot off the tape, then pulls the Koopa off the floor.

"Basically, the person behind what's going on here wanted to hire Ludwig to do some research to find out how to reduce the effects. Ludwig was busy, so King Dad sent me so he could make the money offered anyway."

"So Bowser's behind this?" Mario asks, not surprised.

"No, he didn't and doesn't know what's going on. He was assured the idea was to figure out how to reverse the effects of this, and he wanted in on it not just for the money but also for the idea of having an attitude in case it were to ever strike. The truth though, is-" but the Koopa is cut off when three figures enter the room: two Ganadors and a tall Beanbean man that Mario has not seen before.

"Who is that?" Mario asks.

"He's the guy who oversees the town. Not real important in the grand scheme of things though." Mario, deciding their only option now is to fight, rushes at the leader of the village and is promptly knocked out cold with a powerful right hand. Iggy decides to charge as well, meeting the same fate.

-End of Chapter 1-1-


	2. Day of the Dead

**The Hills Have Eyes (But Only in Grass Land)  
****Chapter 1-2: Day of the Dead**

Mario and Iggy both lie unconscious on the floor of the room they were knocked out in. The two are tied together, and the figure of Cackletta stands over them with a needle in hand. She injects its contents into Mario's neck. "Eyahahahahaha..." she laughs sinisterly, watching with glee as the purple liquid within the vile enters the plumber. She does not do the same to Iggy, curiously.

-The Shack-

Mario awakes to see that he is still where he was before, the Bean and Ganadors both nowhere in sight. He shakes a bit to wake up the Koopa he is tied to.

"Iggy, what were you saying earlier?"

"Huh?" Iggy asks as he yawns before answering, "Right. I was told I was hired to find a cure for this serum. I did, but as it turns out-" Iggy suddenly stops where a Ganador holding an axe enters the room, staring down at both.

"Move!" Mario shouts to the Koopa. Both Iggy and Mario stretch out the ropes as far as possible, causing the Ganador to accidently cut them free rather than kill them. The Ganador rushes at Mario, who does a backflip and in the process kicks the mutant into the bureau, shattering both the bureau and the mutant. As Mario is about to shoot the moss, Iggy stops him.

"Don't worry about it. In its present state, it can only survive on its own for a short time anyway." Iggy then turns and runs out of the building, shouting back, "Sorry I have to go, but there's something very important I need to get."

Mario sighs and starts to take pursuit of the middle-child of the Koopalings, but stops when, while passing by a window, he sees a boy standing outside motioning for him to come around. The boy has purple eyes and discolored limbs, obviously the same boy as from before. Mario, for lack of a better plan at the moment, goes around, going to the boy who is now leaning off a stone wall.

"So, what can I interest you in now?" the boy asks, sounding just like the boy from before and confirming what is pretty obvious anyway.

"What new things do you have?"

"Just two," the boy replies, "But it's a nice one. A Laser Gun, guaranteed to fire faster than that clunky thing you're using now. Not nearly as strong though. Good price, just 350 coins."

"And the other one?"

"I'm not sure you'd like it, but it's something that'll hit hard and fast. A Flower Launcher- a device specifically meant to be used to take down a bunch of targets in one shot. Can only be used once though. Price is 4,000 coins."

"Alright, alright. Give me the Laser Gun." Mario digs out the money and hands it to the boy and is given the small futuristic pistol in return. Mario stuffs it away and then walks off.

"I'll try to have more next time we meet," the boy shouts to him, then looks to see that he's accidently attached himself to the wall.

"Hey!" the boy shouts, though Mario is too far away to hear him, "Can you help me get down from here? Come on!"

-The Underground-

Mario walks through the sewers underneath the village, having gotten there via a warp pipe he had managed to find upon returning to the village. Judging by how long the pipe was and the way the water was flowing, Mario assumes this sewer is leading him to area just outside of the village. What could be there is hard to say.

The plumber eventually reaches a louder leading up to a small ledge. He climbs up this ladder, and there sees a door. But it's not just any door; this door has a strange blue ball on it with a small encryption of a symbol carved into the wall above the door. The ball itself has a similar design on it, but is upside down. Mario, figuring this out easily, rolls the ball a bit to make it face the same way as the design, and the door promptly opens.

-The Chief's House-

Mario walks inside, arriving in what appears to be a small bedroom. A large bed is lying in the corner of the room, and there are also numerous other things: a shelf, paintings, books, and a dresser. Mario, not being able to think of much else to do, opens a drawer on the dresser and sees nothing lying in it but a golden key with a label tied around it, the word on the label being, "Church."

"I'm betting this opens the door they entered earlier..." the plumber mumbles before noticing something lying on the bed. After stuffing the key in the case with his hammer and two guns, he walks over and grabs what it is: a note that appears to have been drafted up but not officially typed yet.

"_Alert Order_

_Recently a man from the Mushroom Kingdom has been spotted wondering around looking into our goals. Do not let this man come in contact with the prisoner- the results could prove to be disastrous. For those who have not yet been informed, the prisoner is being kept inside an old house just outside the main street of the village. We will transfer the prisoner to another more secure location in the valley when we are properly prepared. For now, do whatever it takes to keep the man from the Mushroom Kingdom away from the prisoner._

_We're not sure how the Mushroom Kingdom found out about our plans; we thought we had done an adequate job using Koopa as a scapegoat. It may be that there is someone else involved here, a third party of sorts. If you see any suspicious activity, report it immediately._

_-Chief Bitor Esmendez"_

Not seeing anything else in the room that could be of any concern, Mario folds the letter up and puts it with his other supplies, then walks out of the room. He finds himself a hallway, a well-watched hallway at that, with a staircase leading to the ground level of the house. He begins to hear footsteps but sees no one coming. Mario spins around only to be grabbed by the throat by the chief of the village, who begins to squeeze the very life out of the plumber before suddenly letting go when his left arm, the arm he is choking with, begins to pulse as though it is a warning bell of some sort. Esmendez drops the plumber to the floor, then begins to speak.

"You're one of us it seems. Good. Just stay out of our way for now, or you may find yourself dead before you can achieve the blessing." And with that, the chief walks into the bedroom and slams the door shut behind him. Mario gasps for air for a few seconds, then stands up and calls Toadsworth.

"Toadsworth, it's me. I just had a run-in with the leader of the village. He could have killed me but... he didn't. I also found a document that implies that he is behind Peach's kidnapping, but I don't have anything solid."

"I say, this is starting to sound like quite a mystery we've got on our hands. If you find out the Princess's location, get there as quickly as you are able."

"Alright." Both hang up, and Mario immediately decides to look into the room and spy to see if he can see anything. He cracks the door open, only to see the face of the chief staring right back at him. Mario gets grabbed by the throat, once again being choked though this time the chief shows no signs of caring about his survival. Just as Mario's vision begins to grow foggy, he sees a pink figure outside the window (though he can't make out who it is). Something flies in from the figure, hitting the chief in the back and causing him to drop Mario.

Esmendez turns and charges at the figure, who immediately shoots upward and sends the chief hurtling out the window. Mario drags himself to the window and sees that the chief is alive and well, but is now walking off toward the village oddly.

End of Chapter 1-2


	3. Ghost Lake

**The Hills Have Eyes (But Only in Grass Land)**

**Chapter 1-3: Ghost Lake**

-The Chief's House-

Mario, deciding it best not to stick around, goes down the stairs of the house and out the door. Outside, he sees three Ganadors, as well as another Ganador that looks very much like the masked one from earlier, the only difference being that this Ganador is 2 inches shorter than that one. The pickaxe wielding Ganador rushes forward, swinging wildly at Mario before taking a blast in the stomach with the Laser Gun. No dice. The Ganador swings quickly, with Mario ducking and causing the pickaxe to shatter one of the other three Ganadors. Alas, that also causes the other two to grab him.

Mario struggles to break free as both hold him for the masked Ganador, but to no avail. The Ganador swings, only for Mario to perform a backflip that not only causes the strike to miss, but launches the two holding Ganadors into the stone wall of the house, shattering them. While the masked Ganador's weapon is stuck in the ground, Mario takes advantage and shoots another three rounds from the Laser Gun into him, then tosses that gun down and gets to work with the Super Scope. The first shot from the Super Scope sends the Ganador flying to the ground, and a second ends the fight, killing the creature. Mario grabs his Laser Gun and puts it up, then walks away, following Iggy's advice from earlier to leave the moss alone.

-The Village House-

Mario walks into the locked in building in town, having fought his way through the villagers (they had returned earlier) to get there. Once inside, he looks around, seeing that it is an old, dusty building with a sheet of paper lying on a table, next to which is a typewriter that the note on the paper was likely typed with. Mario picks it up and begins reading, but not before noting that there is a second note lying underneath it.

"_As instructed by Lady Cackletta, I have the man from the Mushroom Kingdom in confinement, alive. Why keep him alive? I don't fully understand her intentions at the moment. I would think she would want them separate, however, instead of keeping them together. I don't believe Iggy would be willing to trust him but if he were, things could get complicated._

_If for some reason my suspicions of a third party are correct, I don't think they would be stupid enough to pass such an opportunity up. But maybe it's all the Lady's plan; make ourselves appear vulnerable, and strike when there is an opening. Hard to say._

_This may sound foolish, but if there is a third party our plans may already be ruined. I guess the lady thinks it is worth the risk. We will trust her call as always._

_-Bitor Esmendez"_

Mario stashes that note in his case with the other he found earlier, then picks up the second note and begins reading it.

"CLOSURE OF THE CHURCH

_Regarding the two fugitives, the apprehension of Iggy is by far our top priority. The Mushroom Kingdom man is a much-distant second. What Iggy stole is of far more value to our plan than the girl- even if we keep the girl, without it the whole plan is destined to fall apart. If it winds up with someone else, the careful planning of Lady Cackletta will be for naught, and all will be ruined for us._

_No matter what it takes, Iggy must be found and dealt with. Either way, the girl is not going to be let go so quickly either- the man from the Mushroom Kingdom must not get his hands on her, or all will fall apart anyway. To ensure the safety of the plan, I have locked the church and only Cackletta and a few guards remain within it. Anyone who wants in must first gain approval from the lady. There is a key beyond the lake, but that's not going to be a problem. The Mass Bass has already been awakened, and all who attempt to cross the lake will be devoured._

_In addition to this, our blood runs through the veins of the man from the Mushroom Kingdom. Even if he does somehow manage to escape with the girl, it will only be a matter of time before we have both him and her and in our grasp once more._

_-Bitor Esmendez_"

Mario's first reaction is to put the paper away then call Toadsworth. "Toadsworth, it's me. I've found out where they've got Peach, and that Cackletta is definitely behind this, and now all I need to do is find out how to get inside."

"Wonderful! Try to get the Princess out of there as soon as possible, Master Mario." Both sides hang up, and Mario goes back further into the house. There, he sees a ladder heading into an underground cavern. With no other leads, Mario climbs down, finding himself in a cave being illuminated by lanterns stuck in small holes in the cave walls. Mario walks forward, noting that there's about three inches of water on the cave floor, and eventually reaches an open area with a ladder in sight. Standing next to the ladder is the boy.

"Hey, you again. Wanna buy anything?"

"Have anything new?"

"Sure do! Heh heh. How'd you like to have a Super Sniper? It's a modified Super Scope guaranteed to hit a target 200 yards away. It's even more powerful. Whatcha think?"

"That could be useful... alright, how much?"

"1,000 coins." Mario digs into his wallet and finds he only has 1,100 coins left. Knowing he'll need to come across some more later, Mario digs out 1,000 and gives them to the boy, then puts the rifle in the case with his other weapons. Mario them climbs up the ladder, and the boy watches him leave for a second before trying to leave and noticing he's managed to attach himself to this wall as well.

"Oh come on!"

-The Graveyard-

Mario reaches the end of the ladder and finds himself now inside a large graveyard, rows of aged tombstones lying before him though it does not appear any new plots have been made in years. Mario walks up a hill there, also lined with tombstones, and reaches the top to see that there is an old but well-kept church in front of him. He goes up the front door, seeing a large Fire Flower-shaped hole in the door that appears to hold a key or a release mechanism of some sort. He hears nothing inside. Mario sighs, realizing he has basically met the end of his trail for the time being, but then notices there is another path leading down a mountain with what appears to be a gigantic lake lying at the bottom.

"I'll bet that it's," Mario mumbles before starting to jog down the mountain. He notices it is starting to rain, thunder clashing along with the rain, and the sky looks like it is night (though it is in fact only 2 P.M.). Mario reaches about halfway down the mountain before seeing a large seemingly abandoned fort that must be passed through to continue. He pulls out his Super Scope and walks in, looking around the old dusty fort to notice not a soul insight. Then he sees two doors: an enormous door locked by reinforced chains with growling and snarling emerging from within it, and a normal door that leads to where he is heading. He opens it, and continues on his way.

-The Lake-

Mario reaches the bottom to see nothing but a pier and a speedboat filled with harpoons lying there, as well as a note with what appears to be a gigantic red circle made with lipstick on it. He picks it up and reads.

"_Mario_

_There is an important item just beyond the lake that you may need. It will allow you to get inside the church and obtain Peach. But I'll warn you, the Mass Bass will put up a fight, though I think you can handle it. Also, they've developed a creature named a 'Shrookong', so good luck._

_About what's going on in your body, if I could help you, I would. Unfortunately, that is beyond my control."_

Mario puts this note with the others and then walks onward toward the boat, getting on and driving it into the river before he sees an enormous figure underneath the boat, seemingly planning to attack. Knowing nothing better to do, Mario grabs the one anchor that is tied to the boat and thrusts it downward, causing the creature to be hit with it and come out of the water, revealing itself to be a gigantic mutated Boss Bass. The Mass Bass launches forward, being hit with another harpoon and as a result diving under just before making contact. Mario grabs a third harpoon, watching for any sign of the beastly fish.

He gets his answer as to where it is at when it comes up from below, the speedboat just barely managing to keep from turning over. Mario thrusts the harpoon at the fish, then grabs a fourth and throws it as well. The fish begins to swim quickly, dragging Mario and the boat about the lake and causing the vessel to slam into a dead tree floating in the water. Mario is thrown off though the harpoons and guns on the ship are fine, and the plumber begins to swim back as the Mass Bass chases him intent on having a snack. Mario manages to get to the boat in time, then grabs another harpoon and thrusts it directly at the fish, hitting once more and causing the fish to stop moving before finally starting to sink. Mario looks in satisfaction until he suddenly falls over, then notices something: the rope that was attached to the first harpoon has been wrapped around his leg!

Mario's first reaction is to quickly dig out his Laser Gun, shooting the rope and burning it before standing up and continuing on his way up the lake.

-The Lakeside Cabin-

Mario walks into a small cabin next to where he parked the boat, having just found the key and put it with all of his other acquisitions. He had also managed to find 5,000 coins in a chest in the cave where he found the key. Inside the cabin, he notices his vision is getting red and blurry. Mario pants a bit, then falls over and passes out on the floor of the cabin.


	4. King Kong

**The Hills Have Eyes (But Only in Grass Land)**

**Chapter 2-1: King Kong**

The Lakeside Cabin

Mario awakens to find himself lying on the floor of the cabin, his vision no longer as it was and now back to normal. The plumber pulls himself off the ground, then walks out of the cabin and looks up at the night sky... night sky? Had he really been out that long? Deciding it best to hurry and find Peach, Mario rushes back to the speedboat and takes off, heading back to the church.

The Fortress

Mario walks into the fortress he had had to pass through on his way to the lake, and inside sees 30 to 40 Ganadors, all staring at that giant door. They all are split between holding two chains, seemingly trying to rip the door off.

"El Kong está listo."

"Somos la última resistencia."

"Martin probablemente no terminará Un Lugar ni TEA3 cualquiera."

The door suddenly does come off, prompting Mario to draw his Super Scope when he sees a 16-foot-tall purple Chained Kong. The beast promptly takes care of every single one of the Ganadors, swatting them left and right, stepping on some, and kicking the rest. Soon, all but Mario and the Shrookong are dead.

The creature lets out a piercing shriek before rushing forward in an attempt to run Mario down, though the plumber manages to roll out of the way. Mario takes the opportunity to shoot the beast twice, then gets back on the defensive. This time, the creature smacks the ground, causing a small tremor that sends Mario toppling over backwards. As the creature lumbers forward and looks ready to finish the fight, both Mario and Shrookong hear a voice.

"Hey, come over here ya dirty ape!"

Mario and the Kong both turn to see the Goomba Mario helped out earlier, much to Mario's relief. The gorilla turns its attention to the Goomba, rushing forward but ultimately missing. Mario fires three more rounds into the Shrookong's back, which causes the creature to fall to one knee while moaning. Mario then looks and sees a small purple creature emerging from the Shrookong's back, and, though it looks a bit familiar but with some differences, he fails to recognize it and instead jumps on the creature's back and begins firing away at the purple being.

After about a minute of nonstop firing, Shrookong begins to rise once more, causing Mario to fall off and the purple creature to reenter the Kong's back. Mario and the Goomba both begin to run as Shrookong charges, once again missing the two and colliding shoulder-first into a wall. Mario fires the Super Scope three times, then throws that down and gets out his Super Sniper. He takes the opportunity to shoot one shot from it directly at the spot where the purple creature in hiding, causing the beast to once again fall over and the creature to emerge. Mario takes out his hammer and thrusts down the Super Sniper, then jumps on the Shrookong's back and finishes the purple creature. This causes the Shrookong to fall to its stomach.

"Thanks for the help..." Mario says while panting before picking up his things and putting them away.

"Any time!" the Goomba answers as he runs off again. Mario then sees a small bag on the Shrookong's side open up, and out from it falls a ton of coins. Mario scoops those up and tosses them in his wallet, then is on his way.

The Church

"Toadsworth, sorry I haven't contacted in a while. I've just entered the church," Mario says as he looks around the large building, not seeing a soul.

"Haven't contacted? Master Mario, you just called an hour and a half ago, remember?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You said you were going to take a rest in some cabin. I guess you must have thought that was in a dream. Either way, hurry and find the princess!"

"Gotcha." Mario hangs up, then begins to wander around the church. In a corner he finds a ladder leading to a balcony up above the first floor. Naturally Mario climbs up, and then, seeing no other way across, swings across the chandelier to the other side of the balcony. Once he does that, he finds a door just up ahead with a padlock on it, a key taped to the wall next to it.

"I bet this is it," he whispers as he pulls it off then unlocks the door. He steps inside to find Princess Peach lying on the ground in a ball, terrified.

"Not again!" she shouts, then looks up just long enough to see that it's not a Ganador at all, but Mario. She leaps up, elated, and hugs his neck before pulling off.

"Mario! I knew you'd come!" After exchanging greetings and explanations of what they know about what's going on (very little) they both rush out of the small room and down the ladder. They walk into the main hall, ready to leave, and see that Cackletta is standing there with three Ganadors all armed with crossbows.

"Eyahahaha! I see you managed to survive the Shrookong, huh? I guess I underestimated you!" the bean-witch taunts.

"What are you up to?" Mario asks, anxious to find out what exactly is going on.

"Simple, Mario, simple. I _was _going to give Peach back in a few days, right after everything's ready. Then, she'll hand over the Mushroom Kingdom to me, and from there I will conquer the world!"

"Why would I give the Mushroom Kingdom to you?" Peach wonders, wishing to hurry up and get out of here.

"Simple, princess. My minions and I have injected both of you with a handy little specimen that mutates whatever it touches! Seems like its effects change depending on the creature; with a Koopa you get Ganadors, with a Cheep-Cheep you get a Mass Bass, and with a Chained Kong you get a Shrookong. With a human it just creates an obedient servant except for the whole thing about dying after two weeks, but who cares? Eyahaha!"

"What is this creature?" Mario questions sternly, wanting to know what it is.

"The term my group uses is _Fungus shrookus_ but I think you may know them better as the Shroobs."

"Shroobs? How?" Peach asks. "I thought Mario and Luigi killed them all!"

"Why should I tell you? If I did, you could stop me... but that's not a worry right now, is it? Ganadors, kill Mario. Let the Princess live. She'll be useless to us dead." All three Ganadors launch arrows, with Mario grabbing Peach and running out of the way at the last second. The two jump through a glass window leading down to another section of the church.

End of Chapter 2-1


End file.
